Well, the most important thing for Sarah is what SHE wants and not what anyone else expects from her. But I would love to see her make a comeback just to see how she would fare against the other ladies and also because I don't think she reached her full potential.

In saying they were snobs, I just deduced it from the circumstances. Ie Sarah's special: the majority of the program was devoted toward Sarah getting into an IVY League college with a huge bit devoted toward Sarah's parents attending Cornell and Cornell's greeting of Sarah. Then when Sarah announced her choice to quit skating to attend Yale, her parents were quoted (I don't have a link) as saying (paraphrasing a bit, but not by much) , " We left the decision to her but we were holding out breath hoping that she would make the right decision" [ right being attending Yale over skating in shows]. A lot of attitudes are cultivated at home...it was very obvious to me that Sarah's parents put a huge premium on the snob factor of the school attended (as if other colleges aren't as good or better than IVY league schools).

Is this vs. the let's call it "skating snob" factor of having a high profile skating career? Maybe Sarah is able to satisfy her need to skate (if she has one) by just going to a rink and skating for her own pleasure. Her parents could certainly do a lot worse than wanting their daughter to get a good education. Very few peopole would turn down the chance to get an Ivy League eucation....it DOES carry a lot if prestige with it.

I also think the way Sarah's father managed her career also left a lot to be desired. He was quoted that "Sarah was too young to be selling products" in his decision to keep her away from endorsements/public eye prior to her win. Now I agree with him in his decision to protect Sarah. However I do believe there was an undercurrent of elitism in his decision making. Sarah is from a privileged background therefore father doesn't want the world to perceive that Sarah has to push products/tour to support her skating. The vibe I got was that the father felt he made enough money to provide for his children and that "Sarah was above touring for a living".

Again, a father providing for his family is a bad thing since when? IMO touring (even with a tour like SOI/COI) might not be the best thing for everyone. SH's parents know her pretty well and are in the position to decide what is best for their daughter. I think any parent would have some qualms about sending their child out on the road (SOI is a VERY long tour)even if the child is legally an adult with a good head on her shoulders.

- There is no "Tara hating" going on from what I can see- not this time, anyway.

- About Sarah- I do think she gets more of her fair share of criticism (see thread in the Voting booth). But enough of that- I do believe that the two of them are doing what they wish, and that's perfectly fine by me. Taking one route (continued career vs. school) over the other isn't necessarily good or bad but they each have their own pros and cons. JMO- I bet anything Hughes' parents were involved in her decision making process but if anything, they should be helping her out.

I don't buy the "fame" excuse for Sarah- who knows, maybe she actually ENJOYS skating in shows? However, she did not keep up her skills enough to really be a show-stopper, which is unfortunate, and evident in forum discussions about her. So there really is only one option for her, which is school.

I think people are taking my post the wrong way. I was responding to Euterpe's post that Sarah was entranced by fame that it lured her away from her education. I believe that Sarah wanted to skate professionally, but was convinced otherwise to attend school. After a year at school, she probably missed skating for an audience and took advantage of touring on SOI. The big problem was that she lost a lot of her skills and took a lot of flack for it.

As for skating around a rink for fun: Sarah had trained for and reached the highest level. I don't know how most people here feel, but it's very hard to just go back to skating around a rink for "fun" with no goal in sight when you've achieved the highest level. She probably had an all or nothing attitude. Either she will skate for an audience or not at all.

I don't know why people think Tara did so wrong in sacrificing her hip for her sport. I know people who haven't even reached the level Tara had who had to quit skating due to injury. There are lots of coaches who have to get hip replacement as well (Richard Callaghan is recovering from hip replacement, my coach is putting off hip replacement as long as he can and he has told me of many coaches who have had to stop demonstrating SINGLE and WALTZ jumps in an effort to save their hips). For all you know, Michelle will probably wind up needing hip replacement as well when she hits her 40s (or even earlier) considering the pounding her body has taken over the years. Or maybe she won't need hip replacement, but either way it's not something that happens to "bad" skaters or skaters who don't warm up properly. I always get the feeling when I read posts on Tara that she "deserved what she got" and that she was at fault for her injury when all that girl did was train hard and win an OGM [what she was supposed to do].

As for an education, you can get an education at any time in your life. Sarah could have toured for a few years and then gone to school. She didn't have to go one way or the other. She could have had her cake and ate it too.

As for skating around a rink for fun: Sarah had trained for and reached the highest level. I don't know how most people here feel, but it's very hard to just go back to skating around a rink for "fun" with no goal in sight when you've achieved the highest level. She probably had an all or nothing attitude. Either she will skate for an audience or not at all.

I can definitely see this. I agree with this point.

As for an education, you can get an education at any time in your life. Sarah could have toured for a few years and then gone to school. She didn't have to go one way or the other. She could have had her cake and ate it too.

Ditto. But Sarah really blew it, I feel, by not keeping up with her skating skills. It's obvious the impact this has made by so many SOIers' reports and opinions. She could always work to get them back if she REALLY wanted to do show skating, so I feel she just wants to move on to other things. And I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. There's nothing written down somewhere that says a skater must stay a skater forever.

It seems that if one skates just for the love of skating that "just skating around the rink" would give you that. Competing or performing on the world stage is another thing. Does Sarah (or any other skater for that matter) skate because she loves skating or because she wants to be a skating star? Cohen and Lipinski have always come across to me as wanting to be skating stars. For example, I love swimming. I love the freedom of moving through the water. I have never wanted to even swim on a team. I get what I need from swimming with just me and the water.

As for getting an education anytime you can. BUT you can't get that Freshman in college experinc with othe your age at any time.

To play devil's advocate .......do fans REALLY care that much about what a skater does or doesn't do, whether they skate or attend school, bake cookies, set out the GP series, or participate in World's after winning an OGM because of what is best for the skater? IMO we care about it only because we want to enjoy seeing them compete and want to see as many as possible show up in top shape, well trained and ready to thrill and entertain us.

It seems that if one skates just for the love of skating that "just skating around the rink" would give you that. Competing or performing on the world stage is another thing. Does Sarah (or any other skater for that matter) skate because she loves skating or because she wants to be a skating star? Cohen and Lipinski have always come across to me as wanting to be skating stars. For example, I love swimming. I love the freedom of moving through the water. I have never wanted to even swim on a team. I get what I need from swimming with just me and the water.

As for getting an education anytime you can. BUT you can't get that Freshman in college experinc with othe your age at any time.
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Well speaking for myself, I didn't think freshman year was that great. The trend now is for many kids to take a gap year anyway to find themselves before committing to college. In my experience, I find that the kids who worked/took a year off before attending college did the best. Even now in law school, the very best students (highly ranked) are the older students who have children and life experience. They bring the most to the classroom and they've learned how to prioritize their time.

As for the motivation for Sasha, Sarah and others: they are motivated first and foremost to pass tests/get results/compete/get recognition. They aren't just skating for fun. If they were, they would never make the elite level because there's a point where the training stops being fun and it becomes work.

To play devil's advocate .......do fans REALLY care that much about what a skater does or doesn't do, whether they skate or attend school, bake cookies, set out the GP series, or participate in World's after winning an OGM because of what is best for the skater? IMO we care about it only because we want to enjoy seeing them compete and want to see as many as possible show up in top shape, well trained and ready to thrill and entertain us.

Good question (and hey, you're stealing my title! ). I do think there is some jealousy on part of the fans, whether admitted or not. But try telling that to the non-Lipinski and non-Hughes fans that could care less what they do, yet insist on criticizing and/or bashing them at any opportunity. This applies to certain other skaters as well.

There is a sense among us fans, IMO, that skaters should ONLY skate and do nothing else. Recall discussions about Cohen's journal entries (gasp, hate to bring this up here :sheesh: ) and how discussions of her cooking, etc. lead to questioning of her preparedness for the skating season and all kinds of speculation. There are other similar situations where topics like this pop up. But after thinking about this one, it just doesn't make sense that a skater would ONLY skate. I think some of this comes from fans wanting favorites to do their best, and want them to train non-stop. I think that anyone who thinks about this for awhile would conclude that this is impossible, and that doing so would drive anyone nuts. In fact finding something else to do outside of skating can only help them. In our little example that I gave, Cohen finds time to bake cookies and take cooking courses outside of her skating schedule.

Now, skating because you love it or you want to be a star- I think this shows in the performance. Those who love it will tend to put their soul or their all into it, and usually (but not always) will stick with the skating community after they retire. Those who just want to be a star might get their 5 min. of fame, and then completely lose interest and bow out altogether. This is only what I THINK, mind you.

think some of this comes from fans wanting favorites to do their best, and want them to train non-stop

Exactly!

A Cohen fan reads in Sasha's Journal that she is baking cookies and thinks "What the #%@! shouldn't she be be practicing those 3/3s.?. Do you think Kwan is sitting at home playing Mrs. Fields?"

Kwan fans see pics of MK at the Emmys and think "Why isn't she practicing those 3/3's? Do you see Irina prancing down the red carpet? And BTW no wonder her back gives her problems carrying around that huge Chanel tote."

Slutskaya fans read that Irina wants to birth a baby and think "Girl get your mind off of your ovaries and concentrate on the other "Big O"....... the Olympics."

I don't think you can completely discount the lure of fame. Sarah the OGM winner got special treatment and invitations to all sorts of fun events. That would be hard for any teenage girl to give up. By skating with SOI for one year, she renewed her celebrity status. Sarah may be back at college, but she is working on a made-for-TV special "Sarah Hughes & Friends". If she hadn't done SOI, maybe that wouldn't have happened for her.

From what I have read, Sarah is training again, so it's still possible that she'll get back in shape and regain some of her lost skills, although competitive skating would be a stretch while she's going to school---at least for now. But it seems Sarah is keeping all her options open.

nice hair cut, and she looks nice in that shot. i didn't know she was dating rudy guliani's son?!

Permit me to be a loutish guy for a moment. in THIS picture (the one you originally posted), you can easily see what America likes about this woman. However in THIS picture (which is obviously from the same photo session), you can clearly see what the former mayor's son (or any other red blooded American male) likes about this woman.